Mushroom Barley Soup (Slowcooker)

By Ammerie

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium leek, white and light green parts only, washed and dried well, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3 medium carrots, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 24 ounces mushrooms, sliced (mix of button, cremini and all wild varities)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup sherry
• 1 cup pearl barley
• 10 cups vegetable broth
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Preparation

Step 1

1. Put the butter into the cooking pot of the multicooker and set to Brown/Saute at 375.

2. Once melted, stir in the chopped leek, onion and carrots. Saute until vegetables ar soft and fragrant, aobut 5-8 minutes.

3. Stir in the garlic, mushrooms, salt, thyme and bay leaf. Cook until mushrooms release most of their moisture and have cooked down considerably, up to 10 minutes.

4. Add sherry to the pot and cook until almost completely reduced

5. Add hte barley, broth and pepper and switch the unit to Slow Cook on High for 3 1/2 hours.

6. Once unit switches to Keep Warm and right before serving, stir in fersh parsley and lemon juice